22 rooms - Castle - score: 9.2, from 3 review/s

“Culcreuch Castle”, for centuries one of the main ancestral seats of the famed Lairds of Culcreuch, has been the beacon from which the boisterous and always feuding Clan Galbraith not only witnessed, but often had a hand in influencing and dominating, events of historical proportions and consequences in Scotland’s rich central landscape.

The oldest parts of the castle, records indicate, dates back to the 14th century. Because of the Galbraiths’ warring nature, the castle it is believed must have witnessed many a battle between the fighting Scottish Clans over the centuries and as a result much destruction and restoration.

The estate, with its 1000 acres of bucolic countryside and wooded parklands, was carefully restored and lovingly opened to the public in the latter half of the 20th century for cream teas.

Today it offers 3 well-appointed categories of guestrooms ranging from elegant, four-poster bedrooms in the castle to minimalist courtyard family rooms in the converted stables to family lodges at a short distance from the castle.

Not to miss is the dining experience, including fine Scottish larder, much as the Galbraiths would have served but, as they say, with much finer manners